Hi everyone,

Although off-competition, please feel free to share your comments/reviews about this opening display (and the first display in nearly three years) here!

Trav.

This pre-opening night of the Montreal International Fireworks Competition was definitely not a standard evening. Nearly two years and 10 months after the closing show of the 35th edition (July 27, 2019), I was particularly excited to return at La Ronde for a competition which, at some points since the start of the pandemic, I wasn’t sure we were going to experience again. I don’t want to offend the designers and other pyros who had worked on this inaugural show, but the very fact to get the event back was, for me, the highlight of this emotional night.

In Québec, the rare fireworks events held in the past two years were basically in closets : organizers were required to keep their specific locations secret to avoid mass gathering, so only larger perimeters or districts could be disclosed in advance. So was the International des Feux Loto-Québec “Préludes” series, held in July and August 2021 in eight districts on the Montreal Island. These short pyromusical impromptu (about 5 minutes) were supposed to lead to a larger event in early September 2021 at La Ronde, advertised as a tribute to essential workers. Unfortunately, as the public health officials have not greenlighted that special event, it didn’t happen.

This background helps to explain the particular schedule of this 2022 edition of the competition, which starts with two off-competition shows. Basically, the organizers have decided to keep the structure of six competition shows preceded and followed by off-competition opening and closing displays, and to move the performance scheduled in September 2021 as a pre-opening event this year. From his interview with the designer, Paul Marriott reported it had been “reworked a little bit to coincide with the Québec Fête Nationale celebrations.”

With the Québec motto Je me souviens as a title, a soundtrack entirely made of songs performed by Québec singers, and a descriptive stressing the collective efforts made during the pandemic, I anticipated a pretty patriotic show (conveniently performed three months before a provincial election where nationalism is a value mobilized by some parties more than others). It turned out not to be the case. The songs emphasized the human side of the hardship of life. The titles spoke themselves : Comme avant and Comme dans l’temps; Rester forts, Rester debout and Never Surrender; Où sera le monde, Courage and Hallelujah, to name a few. Some of them were parts of the various soundtracks of last year “Préludes” series. In this pandemic context, where basically everyone has suffered in various ways and lost relatives, I found some of the lyrics particularly meaningful, and I am sure many viewers shed a few tears. I did.

I didn’t really watch the show with the competition criteria in mind. It started with a rare confusion surrounding the countdown performed live my Michel Lacroix, back in his role of master of ceremony. Following an initial countdown stopped at “6” (but continued by the enthusiastic audience!), he apologized and the Ferris Wheel was lighted again. With the second try, the fireworks suddenly came into life around “5.” Several times during the display, pyrotechnic sequences began about two seconds before their corresponding song. I wonder to what extent the synchronization has actually been disrupted because the pyromusical design was somewhat atmospheric in my opinion. The flow featured a series of serene and more active parts, which I appreciated. A number of fans of comets erupted on the fifth ramp, the closest to the audience. I also liked the nautical mines on Yann Perreau’s J’aime les oiseaux, a segment appropriately opened with whistles. However, the pyrotechnic material was somewhat repetitive. For instance, some bicolour shells producing red and green stars appeared into, at least, three segments. The soundtrack included a number of songs nicely assembled to keep only the most appropriate verses and choruses. It was yet a bold choice to close it with a fade out, and so the finale ended in a way I felt somewhat anti-climactic. Nevertheless, in a surprising twist, the wind suddenly turned into Westerlies in perfect synchronization with the end of the display, so we were treated with a delightful smell of sulfur that many fireworks aficionados like! GFA Pyros will also present next week opening show, with a soundtrack designed by the show designer himself, which wasn’t the case this week. I am looking forward to see it as Paul reported that it is going to reach a higher level of complexity.

Je me souviens was an overarching theme also applied to the pre-show, a choreography reportedly made with a set of 150 drones. The fireworks have been preceded by diverse sorts of performances in special occasions, but a such drone show was apparently the first of its kind in the Montreal area. It started around 9:49pm and it lasted 10 minutes, with a combination of narratives, musics and one song (Claude Léveillé’s Mon pays). That performance was really designed for La Ronde audience (as well as the one facing the park on the other side of the river) as most sequences appeared to be 2D. Aside one or two rotating figures, viewers with more lateral angles had certainly a hard time to figure out what was illustrated. A set of music instruments, a microphone and musical notes (including a treble clef) appeared shortly after the beginning. Some simple bodies (apparently) in walking or dancing positions have transformed into two more refined people holding each others. A number of heart-, star-, butterfly-, and fireworks-shaped clusters of lights appeared in various sequences. This exhibition ended with a sequence of “Je me” and “souviens” letters. It was a very enjoyable addition.

While Michel Lacroix was there, the typical official ceremony was replaced by a more sober presentation around 9:30pm, including a tribute to music composer Vangelis who passed away in May. For about 10 minutes, about four Vangelis’ compositions were played, including Chariots of Fire which always announces the introduction of the show, and Conquest of Paradise selected by many contestants over the years.

Despite perfect weather conditions, the size of the attendance appeared to be modest. While people populated all areas of the grandstands, it was not a compact crowd by any standard. The attendance is something to monitor this year as La Ronde has increased its prices and has made the structure of its tickets and season passes very complex, in addition of many other rule changes (e.g., folding chairs are now forbidden) and operating hours cuts (e.g., on fireworks days, the park still closes at 11:30pm but it opens only at 2pm). The number of seats in the grandstands is reduced as many front rows in Silver sections 301 and 302 have been removed. Furthermore, some central loudspeakers have been relocated further left and right, providing in Silver sections a wider view unobstructed by those black boxes. The quality of the sound was as good to my ears as it used to be.

(Note : I set myself the goal to write shorter reviews this year. This one is certainly not a success!)

Fred

Hi!

First post for me but I've been reading for a while. For those who don't know me, my name is Martine, I was on the last cohort of judges back in... 2019!! My last night at La Ronde was on my end of mandate night, almost 3 years ago!! I'm also an amateurish photograph.

That being all said, here’s my modest review:

First, the attendance was so low that we we’re at first very surprised and pleased by how quickly we got in. Ironically, the way out was so loooong, I guess we had it to easy at entrance!!!
Speaking of a luckily entrance, even though they scanned my cameras and tripod at gate, I was lucky enough to get in with my photography material. Some didn’t get that chance ☹

Once on the site, it was awesome to walk around meeting old friends, hugging, exchanging news, etc. The temperature was perfect for a night of reunion, the sun setting down in orange shades and music by Vangelis made it a perfect summer night portrait. I used to be in a choir and singing Conquest of paradise amongst with 249 other person was always a very delightful moment, this song as double signification for me and I love it so much. The fireworks were not even lunched that I was a bit emotional!

The drone’s presentation was nicely executed. It was the first time for me to see this and I was really impressed! First time taking pictures of drones too, I was a bit nervous about how I was going to do that but luckily, they we’re standing still for a few moments before changing figures!
A false start kept us waiting a bit longer for this moment, and then, the fireworks finally light up the sky of Montreal and our hearts!

In the most part, the display was a large public crowd pleaser with just the right proportion of low middle and high shells. The sky was painted in colors from left to right, from up in the sky to directly on the lake with a few nautical mines. Synchronicity wasn’t on point and a few technical problems were seen. This display was not very complex but a crowd pleaser for general population around Montreal. Either at La Ronde, on the bridge, on Notre Dame, in Old Montreal, and from Parc Marie Victorin on the southshore, everyone could see and hear it. An perfect off competition first night back after 3 years.

The theme and soundtrack was definitely a game changer for me as it stimulated my patriotic essence and I liked that the playlist was varied. I lived all the emotions in 30 minutes. The warm and comfortable voice of Cohen with his Hallelujah got my eyes a bit wet. The playful song J’aime les oiseaux got me dancing with joy behind my camera and enjoying the whistles acting like birds. Une chance qu’on s’a got me taking my best friend in my arms, thinking of all we went through for the past years, and telling him with tears in my eyes, yeah, Une chance qu’on s’a, indeed!!
Ça fait du bien de Fiori got me bursting into tears even more as my godmother who passed away in the last year really liked him, and because of the light of hope this song brings.”Ça fait du bien de se voir ensemble dans un lieu d’espoir” indeed!!!
Finally, the lighthearted and playful song of Les trois Accords got me smiling, hoping of lighter days to come. A world of unicorn is a utopia but it feels good to imagine it.
On the technical part of the playlist, some songs we’re cut a bit drastically, to my own taste.

I hope I’ll be able to be back on the site this summer as it is surely the best place to be but with the new fees combined with the chance to be refused at gate with my camera makes me double think of paying my pass.
I might have to go see them from outside, which might be cool for having different points of view images to share but is certainly isn’t cool for not being on site with you all!

In conclusion, Saturday night was a night I’ve long waiting for, as everyone here. All those long nights without fireworks, in lockdown, the idea itself of this first night back at La Ronde kept me hoping better days were to come. I also was scared that the festival wouldn’t come back. That the pandemic was the last nail on the coffin, but I know some people are working very hard on keeping this event alive! Fortunately!

Hope to see you again soon!